Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the estimated average time span from application to payment for employment support providers seeking help from the Access to Work scheme.

We do not routinely collect data on the funding provided directly to employment support providers. Access to Work funding is, in most cases, paid directly to the customer, unless the customer requests that the funding is paid directly to an employment support provider.

Access to work has recruited additional staff to ensure a high level of customer service. The digital payments portal was introduced in June 2023 and is available for all customers that choose to claim online.

Access to Work has received significant increase in payment claims over the last year and have recruited new staff to meet the increased demand and reduce the time it takes to make payments.